Nick V.

Age: 17, Hometown: Lakewood, Colorado

"Climate impacts in the U.S. are real and getting worse. We're running out of water, we're facing record-setting heat waves, and wildfires and superstorms are becoming more common. We must act now to protect our planet and our civilization."

As a young Catholic, Nick is drawn to the intersection between his church and environmental stewardship, and was inspired by Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. “Our moral call to protect the common good (and not the profits of a selfish few) is clear in the Pope’s call to action,” says Nick. When Catholic groups came on board to support the lawsuit, he wanted to “thank God for their support in our fight to save our Nation’s climate.” Where he lives in Colorado, Nick enjoys fishing, but due to wildfires and variable water flows from droughts and floods, he has not been able to go fishing for the past three years. Nick and his family grow some of their own food, but hail, rainstorms, drought, and pests have ruined their garden for several years.

Nick being interviewed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! at the March For Science in Washington DC, April 22, 2017. Photo: Robin Loznak